September 7, 2003
GREENVILLE - The 14th ranked Furman men's soccer team dropped a heart breaking match to ninth ranked St. Louis 1-0 in overtime Sunday afternoon in the final match of the Diadora Spinx Furman Invitational at Eugene Stone Soccer Stadium.
After over 97 minutes of scoreless soccer, the Billikens’ Will John won the match for St. Louis with a goal off a Vedad Ibisevic assist. John earned tournament MVP honors for his performance.
Furman's play was much improved from Friday’s stunning last minute loss to South Florida as the Paladins held strong with the Billikens for the entire contest.
"This is a disapointing loss because we played hard and tough against a very good St. Louis team," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "I am pleased that we came out and played hard for the entire match, but these types of losses are heart breaking. I feel confident that we will regroup and make this a successful season."
St. Louis' Will John earned Offensive MVP honors, while the Billikens' Andy Pusateri was named Defensive MVP of the Diadora Spinx Furman Invitational. Also earning a spot on the all-tournament team was St. Louis' Brian Grazier and Vedab Ibisevic, Furman's Mark Futrell and Scott Hoch, Clemson's Bradley Gibson, Andre Borgess, and Justin Moore, and South Florida's Peter Lechak and Hunter West.
Furman falls to 0-4 on the season, all against teams that were ranked in the national top 25 in one or more polls. St. Louis improves to 4-0 on the season. Furman returns to action Saturday night in its Southern Conference opener at Eugene Stone Soccer Stadium against Elon at 7:00.
Scoring:
SLU - Will John (Vedad Ibisevic assist) 97:03
Shots: FU - 7, SLU - 15
Saves: FU - 3, SLU - 3
Corner Kicks: FU - 3, SLU - 7
Fouls: FU - 21, SLU - 25